An orchid - or two?

Pretty sure this is a Northern Marsh Orchid seen at Ettrick Marshes, Scottish Borders.

This may (or not?) be a fragrant orchid - it was certainly very fragrant, but three of us were not sure whether it was an orchid.

Lyveden Way from Wadenhoe

Thursday 7 July 2016 . Started at 9.30. Just over seven miles. With Maureen and Gordon.


From the car park near the village hall we climbed up to the church on the hill.

From Wadenhoe church we followed the path , along the avenue of hornbeams and over a couple of cattle grids to the road to Aldwincle.

turned left along the road, then right on a path which took us to another small road.

Here we turned left through a metal gate and walked along a wide grassy track, which used to be part of the road from Thrapston to Oundle. 

Lots of meadow browns in the grassy parts.

Just over half a mile down the track, a footpath goes to the right, heading for the woods.The path through the edge of the woods is quite narrow and overgrown in places, and can be muddy. Today there were plenty of annoying horseflies too.

After another half-mile or so the path became wider, and joined a track, which we followed to the right through the woods.

Beside the track in the grass were a fair number of common spotted orchids.

At a gap in the hedge we turned right following the path along the edge of the wood, and turning left then right at the next hedge, to go behind Lyveden New Bield.

We made use of a picnic table to have a break, before heading across a field and directly through Lilford Wood.  At the other end of the wood, we crossed a small grassy field, then a footbridge, walked uphill through another field, until we reached a metalled track. This took us  for a couple of miles or so back to the small road we crossed much earlier in the walk. Here we turned right, then left soon afterwards, taking a footpath alongside a hedge. Muddy gateway alert.

The path is well signed and leads into `Wadenhoe village, coming out between two houses and on to the main street.

Lunch at the Old Barn before returning to the car.

Thorpe Langton to Foxton Locks

With Maureen and Gordon. We set off shortly before midday from Thorpe Langton, and followed the Leicestershire Round. 

Walk along Church Lane, opposite side of road to pub. Turn R to pass church. Follow path over field to redbrick farm. 
Turn L. Follow track to open field. Turn R through a gate. Follow path over several fields, heading west. Park Hill Farm is uphill on R. Follow waymarked posts over fields - the last one is quite hummocky and leads into a hedged path and out to a road. Walk to road junction, then turn R uphill towards the Bell Inn. Take the first street L, going downhill past E.Langton Grange. Follow road to the end. A convenient bench  near a Leics Round signpost makes an early coffee stop inevitable.  
Then climb stile to footpath. The path heads south, and all the field boundaries are crossed by gates and clearly marked.
Pass stone to Lottery -the first winner of the Grand National, with a fine pedigree and descendants - see this entry, with pictures and details, in Thoroughbred Heritage

Cross a footbridge over Langton Brook  - 

Not ours!!

and go underneath  mainline railway. 

Not insurmountable

Cross another two fields and strip of trees, then two more fields. Ahead is the factory by the canal, a useful directional landmark for a while. Down steps to A6 - a busy road to cross. Up steps at other side. Through one more field. At hedge turn R and head towards B6047. Just before road path gets a bit overgrown, but passable.  (Better today than I have seen it at this time of year!) 

Well, we got through this easily enough!!

Come out on road, walk short distance to Bowden Inn Farm and cross. Go down concrete slope and turn R into field. Follow waymarked paths over fields in direction of Gartree prison. Go through a hedge and keep hedge on left for two fields, then on right. 

A brief pause before Foxton

Cross a bumpy field - can be muddy - to gate and stile by farmhouse and come out into Swingbridge Street, Foxton. 
 At this point we headed for the canal and walked along the towpath to the Locks.


We had lunch at the Bridge 69 Pub, then made our way up the 75 foot rise (so we were informed) to the top car park.

Pleased to say that the path was mostly pretty clear, though I did use secateurs to clear brambles from a stile, and the trusty trekking pole to slash some large nettles. But it looks as though people walk it fairly regularly.

Irthlingborough Lakes and Meadows

Three walks combined here :

1. With Maureen and Gordon. 

As we drove down it began to drizzle, but we braved the elements. After an hour and a half of drizzle from above, and a considerable amount of long wet grass etc from blelow, we were pretty wet.  There are lots of wilds flowers, we saw a few damselflies, and heard plenty of birds, but some of the time we just plodded on.

Just as we found a convenient bench for a break, the rain stopped and we could feel the sun's warmth. 

When we reached our parking place, I changed soggy boots and socks for dry footwear, and we continued to Stanwick Lakes Visitor Centre for lunch.

We covered six miles, on very flat ground, some of it along the rain-dimpled Nene. A gentle stroll, really.

2. With Marta from Irthlingborough town centre car park near the church.

We followed the Nene Way down to Station Road, then walked south west along the old railway track 

(towards Wellingborough). At the first junction of two hard surfaced tracks we turned left and then turned right along a grassy track just before a bridge crosses the river Nene. We followed this round almost as far as the sewage farm, then turned right , eventually reaching the main surfaced track again.

When we reached the crossing with the other track, we turned left heading back and slightly uphill towards Irthlingborough, and back to the car park. 

A fine warm day, much pleasanter - only just over 4 miles.

3. With Gordon.

We started from Stanwick Lakes car park (2.50 per day if it's not school holidays or a weekend).

This time we followed more or less the route from walk 2, but didn't go up to Irthlingborough. The walk ended up as 5.5 miles, since the distance from the Visitor Centre to Staion Road is approx 1 mile each way.

Lots of damselflies, blue iridescent ones, and the ones with black spots on their wings.

We stopped for a break and saw a kingfisher flying along the river. Magic.

The Ring of the Loch

Wednesday  8 June 2016

A seven mile circular walk on level ground around St Mary's Loch, with three optional extras, making over ten miles in all.  We started at half past eleven, as the mist was lifting, and ended up walking in hot sunshine. We took the walk at a steady pace and had leisurely coffee and lunch breaks, returning to the car at about six o'clock.

The route is well signed, and easy to follow. 

We walked in an anticlockwise direction starting from the Glen Cafe near the James Hogg monument.

There'll be more info about 'the Ettrick Shepherd' on my other blog.  The weather was dull and the cloud was low when we arrived.

After a coffee and flapjack, and a brief nod to James Hogg we were ready.

We crossed the road bridge and turned left by Tibbie Shiel's Inn. She was a well known landlady in the time of Hogg and Walter Scott. The tale goes that you could party on a Saturday night, but had to attend the family service on a Sunday.

We followed the path past the sailing club and along the shoreline. There's grassland and woodland, and some modern sculptures.

This refers to the ribbons from Tibbie Shiels's wedding bonnet. She gave them to two of her sons as bible bookmarks when they emigrated to Canada. Their own brides wore them, and eventually one was returned to Scotland, and is still used today.

When we reached the car park at the eastern end of the loch, we opted for the diversion to see Dryhope Tower, a fortified house from the 1500s, when armies from England and Scotland were often rampaging through, along with the reivers, (robber barons and cattle stealers). The tower was the birthplace of one of Walter Scott's ancestors, Mary Scott, the Flower of Yarrow.

This is the marriage stone of her parents, Philip and Mary, set into the wall of Dryhope Tower.

We climbed the recently installed metal spiral staircase to the top, and had lunch in the warm sun, enjoying the fine views.

We returned to the road, retracing our steps, and followed it until we saw the waymarked sign which indicated an old drove road, a little way above the modern road.

After a mile or so there were signs to St Mary's Kirkyard, uphill  of course, though we could see no sign of it from where we were. But needs must, and we headed upwards.

This kirk (and incidentally the Auld Kirk in Selkirk as well) claims to be the Kirk in the Forest, where William Wallace was proclaimed Guardian of Scotland. All that remains of the twelfth century church is the kirkyard. Every July, an outdoor service called the Blanket Preaching is held here to commemorate the outlawed Covenanters, who would hold services in secret places in the seventeenth century.

Downhill now, and back to the drove road. The path crosses the modern road and soon we arrived at the junction to Megget, where we took another diversion to visit the supposed grave of Piers Cockburn, a reiver of the 1500s who was executed by King James in 1530.

 Legend says he was hanged on his own doorstep, though records say this happened in Edinburgh. The story forms the basis of Walter Scott's "Border Widow's Lament". A tragic and violent tale, but now this spot is peaceful.

We returned to the main path and followed the route alongside the loch - as always the last couple of miles seemed the longest.

An excellent walk, which we took at a leisurely pace, in beautiful weather.

Short ride up the Ettrick Valley

Monday 06 June 2016

A lovely ride on a quiet road. Apart from four timber lorries and a mobile library van, we saw maybe two cars. 

Ettrick Water is a delightful river, much like a mini-Tweed, clear, fast flowing with a rocky or pebbly bed.

The road from Ettrick village is not a through road, and from the cottage to the end of the surfaced road at Potburn climbs very gently. 

Harry rode further along the track  from here, while I sauntered back taking snaps.

The weather started sunny and warm, though we did have a heavy shower before we got back.

Scottish Borders - Ettrick

More than delighted to have done a short (5.6 miles), and strenuous (around 1300 feet of ascent) walk, much of it on tussocky ground which would no doubt include bog after a spell of wet weather.

This was from Elspinhope Cottage, on Cossarshill Farm, along the valley on a track parallel to the road, until we were level with Brockhoperig Farm. 

On the way we saw and heard oystercatchers and lots of skylarks, and heard a cuckoo. There were plenty of wild flowers too.

Common Butterwort

We turned right and headed for the ridge, which we met at Herman Law (614 m) via Cossars Hill and Standtrae Knowe. 

Fabulous views into the Yarrow Valley, with the Loch of the Lowes and St Mary's Loch.

Then down hill over more very rough ground following Cossarshill Burn back to the farmhouse.

Wonderful sunny weather.